


Don’t Underestimate Us

by Listentothelittlebird



Series: Code Bat [8]
Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types, Red Hood and the Outlaws (Comics), Teen Titans (Comics)
Genre: (unnamed) OC, Batfamily (DCU), Code Bat, Gen, Jason Todd is a good brother, John Constantine didn’t sign up for this, but their teammates don’t know they’re related, is their code for “Bats assemble”
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-09
Updated: 2020-10-09
Packaged: 2021-03-07 18:54:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,755
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26912485
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Listentothelittlebird/pseuds/Listentothelittlebird
Summary: The Bats have each established themselves as solo vigilantes, with no affiliation to Batman. Outside of Gotham, they’re strangers.When their teammates start to act strange, and Batman is uncontactable, Code Bat is activated.(Or: Bat-children, assemble!)
Relationships: Tim Drake & Dick Grayson & Jason Todd & Bruce Wayne & Damian Wayne
Series: Code Bat [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1964452
Comments: 16
Kudos: 809





	Don’t Underestimate Us

“Who’s my favourite author?” Tim blinked. Of all the things he was expecting when he picked up his phone, it was not that. 

“You love Jane Austen. You, and I quote, ‘came back from the dead just to read Pride and Prejudice again’.” Tim’s response seemed to be satisfactory, as Jason let out a relieved sigh.

“Are you in hearing range?” was the next question. “No,” Tim replied, “My room in the tower is soundproof. What is it?”

“Your teammates. Have they been acting weirdly?”

Tim thought back to several odd instances in the day - where someone ignored an inside joke, someone reacted differently from normal, and how both Kon and Cassie have not floated around the tower once that day. That one was the one that sent off the final alarm - because Kon-El was notoriously bad at remembering to act like a normal human being.

“Yeah. It’s almost like they’re there, but not there - like, like-”

“Like they’re puppets?” Tim shuddered, but nonetheless agreed with Jason’s conclusion. Wait.

“The Outlaws?”

“Are acting the same way,” Jason confirmed, “Can you get in touch with Nightwing? I’m here with Robin at the Clocktower. Spoils opted out, she’s got college lectures right now. I don’t think we need BB, but O says that the Bat has missed three call-ins, and Agent A says he hasn’t been home for twenty-four hours.”

That’s not a good sign.

Tim quickly opened up his chat messages.

_D, what’s your favourite bird?_

_A Robin. What’s up, T?_

_Code Bat. Clocktower._

_Got it._

“What’s my favourite coffee order?” Tim asked, just to make sure that Jason was not compromised. He was fairly sure that he was fine, given the fact that he had contacted him in the first place.

True to Tim’s assumption, Jason snorted, “The Death Wish. It’s from the cafe two streets down from Wayne Tower.” Tim hummed his acknowledgement.

“I’ll meet you there. Let’s hope this isn’t as bad as it looks.”

Red Robin strolled down to the hangar, and he was forced to pause when he spotted Kon walking up to him from the jet. Superboy, he corrected himself, because this was not his friend - this was a stranger in his friend’s body. “Hey, Red,” Superboy greeted. Not Alvin, not Tim. Red.

“Hey,” he nodded his head, and walked cautiously forwards. Superboy was regarding him with piercing blue eyes, and he tried not to be unnerved by the lack of his usual sunshine smile.

“What are you doing here? In full costume?” Superboy questioned. Tim shrugged, “Oh, I just thought I’d check out the jet. See if it’s fully functioning. You know, routine check-up.”

“Oh,” Superboy nodded, “I can help,” and he followed after him. Dammit.

Tim turned on his heels to face the eerily stoic expression of his teammate. “No, really, it’s alright,” Tim assured, “I really don’t want you to mess up anything. Remember last time?”

“Oh, last time, yeah, of course,” by the way he was responding, by his body language, everything screamed that that statement was a lie. 

“Well, let me work in peace then. Go bother someone else,” Tim stated curtly, before continuing towards the jet. He was brisk walking for five seconds before the faintest gush of wind blew behind him, and suddenly he was wrapped up in strong arms and-

Superboy collapsed to the ground in a heap as Tim slapped the Kryptonite patch onto his forearm. He ran into the jet, quickly firing it up, knowing that it would not be long before Wondergirl or Kid Flash entered the hangar and found a collapsed and temporarily powerless Superboy.

Tim initiated the tower lockdown the moment he was in the skies. Nobody in, nobody out. Any deactivation codes would be unable to be used by the puppet master, from what little Tim had already witnessed.

“I’m on my way,” Tim spoke into his comms. 

“I hear you, Red. Nightwing radioed in ahead, as well. We’ll brief the both of you on what we think is happening once you get here,” Oracle replied.

~

Tim arrived at the Clocktower, quickly parking the jet in a discreet location (with its camouflage on, of course) and heading towards the entrance, letting the camera capture him staring. 

“Who are you talking to?” the robotic voice asked. Red Robin splayed his hands in an over-exaggerated reverence, “O great Oracle, seer-of-all, please allow me to enter your humble abode,” he bowed lowly, and he was rewarded with a snort through his comms. 

“He’s one of us, but are we sure that him and N didn’t switch bodies?” Hood’s voice chuckled in his ear. “I’m right here,” came Nightwing’s protest, as Red Robin made his way up to the meeting room. Everyone was there, with what looked to be half of a plan already organised on one of the monitors. Red Hood’s helmet was on a side table, and Robin had just re-entered in his full uniform.

“So, does anyone know what happened?” Red Robin crossed his arms, eyeing all his siblings with a questioning brow. The other robins gave sharp nods.

“We think it started with the Watchtower,” Oracle stated, pulling up a video feed that showed Wonder Woman and Wonder Girl. Wonder Woman was wearing a new necklace - one that looked to be made of a golden chain, with a large stone amulet hanging from it. A purple gem was embedded at the centre. The footage switched to an unknown location, with Wonder Woman talking to Artemis. In both instances, there were a split-second of purple wisps transferring from Diana to the two others. 

“Wonder Woman had just returned from a trip to Themyscira, and started to act oddly. She first met up with Wonder Girl, before actively seeking out Artemis.” 

“Artemis returned to the Outlaws base pretty stiff,” Hood chimed in, “Then, before I knew it, everyone around me was acting weird. I haven’t been able to get in contact with Roy yet, but that’s just because the Arrows have been dealing with something in Star City for the past week or so. Oracle?”

“Green Arrow was not in the Watchtower throughout this whole period,” Oracle confirmed, “But they’re still occupied in their city, so we can’t ask for their help.”

Robin clicked his tongue, “All of your metas and otherwise non-human teammates were affected, except for you two,” Robin nodded to Red Robin and Red Hood, “Could that be part of why you escaped? That they are underestimating us?”

“Good thinking, Robin,” Nightwing ruffled the boy’s hair, much to his chagrin, “It’s the reason we have Code Bat, after all. They’re probably not trying to track the Reds down because they think uncoordinated, un-affiliated humans won’t be able to do anything. They’re in for a surprise.”

“We’ll need more info than that if we want to get the drop on them,” Red Hood huffed, digging through the duffel bag next to his feet, “That necklace looks familiar, and not in a good way.” He started flipping through a book, and shoved another at Red Robin, “Help me look for it, Replacement.”

“I’ve already been replaced, dammit, you’re as replaced as I am,” Red Robin huffed, but nonetheless opened the book he was handed. 

It was not long before they found a description of the amulet in one of the books. “A sorceress that was imprisoned inside, power hungry, will have full control over her puppets after three days, great,” Red Hood deadpanned, “Why was I expecting something else?”

“It just seems mundane,” Nightwing shrugged, “We always expect the unexpected.” Red Hood silently agreed.

“Wonder Woman started the chain a day and a half ago,” Oracle observed, “We have today to find a solution, and tomorrow to carry it out. Any ideas?”

“Constantine owes me a favour,” Red Robin suggested, “I could cash in on it.”

His siblings blinked at him in shock, concern, and respect- and he was surprised to find that it was Robin who was impressed. That was basically his highest praise. 

“I think we should go with the magic-user,” Nightwing agreed. He grinned, “Tell me the story soon?”

“Next time I’m in Gotham,” Red Robin promised, and Red Hood made him promise he would be there to hear it, too. Robin then announced that they were wasting time, and Oracle promptly gave Constantine’s whereabouts. 

“We probably shouldn’t be seen together. I’ll just be there and out,” Red Robin promised, “Should I bring him here?”

The Bats shared a contemplative look. “Constantine is a valuable asset,” Robin claimed, “And he is far enough removed from other superheroes that even if they pried, nobody would truly believe that we had an allegiance.”

“Code Bat would not be compromised,” Red Robin translated, “He also doesn’t give a crap about us, anyway, so he’s pretty safe in my books.”

“Bring him here, then,” Oracle sighed, reaching for a spare domino mask, “Should I be in something else besides couch potato wear?”

“No, you’re beautiful regardless!” was said at the same time as, “No, John’ll look worse regardless.” Tim stifled a laugh, then bid them farewell as he slipped out in civvies.

~

“What’re you doing here?” was the man’s first words as Tim slipped into the booth seat across from him, “You don’t belong in a dump like this. Hell, you look like you’d prefer an English Breakfast to booze,” Constantine raised his beer as if to prove his point.

“I prefer Earl Grey, but thanks for your opinion,” Tim stated dryly, fiddling with the sunglasses over his eyes. Constantine raised an eyebrow, then groaned. “Is that you, Red?” he sighed when Tim nodded firmly. 

“I’m cashing in on that favour, Constantine,” Tim leaned in to whisper, “The League’s been compromised by some magic. We need someone who can reverse that for us.”

Constantine raised both eyebrows, now. “Why’s a kid like you concerned about the big chaps? Surely they can fend for themselves,” he finished his beer with a long swig. Tim waited for him to swallow before he responded, “Apparently not,” he stated dryly, “Seeing as all the metas and non-humans I know are currently under her control.”

For his part, Constantine just blinked at him for a few moments, before standing to his feet and stretching. “Alright,” he sighed, “Where’re you taking me? Some secret safehouse?” 

“Something like that,” Tim smirked, and was satisfied to see Constantine look mildly concerned. It was not often he was able to flaunt his Bat-affiliation, and he was going to enjoy every second of this.

~

“I should have brought more booze,” Constantine mumbled, waving a finger at the gathered vigilantes, “You’re saying that you’ve all known each other, this whole time? And no one is privvy to that knowledge?”

“No one except our own.” Nightwing paused, and smiled, “Except you, now, I guess. You had to know who you were working with, after all. I’m honestly surprised we’ve kept this up for so long.”

“Can you do it, or can’t you?” Robin cut in, frowning down at the man from his perch on a side table. Constantine stared at the boy for a full minute, before laughing, “I can’t wait for you to be introduced to the capes. Yeah, kid, sure I can. You just have to get me close enough to cast the spell on the amulet. The old spell is wearing off, that’s why this whole mess happened in the first place.”

“How long will your spell hold for, then?” Red Hood asked curiously, looking up from where he was cleaning his gun. Constantine see-sawed his hand in the air, “Eh, about two or three decades, give or take. Just kidding,” his hand flopped as his expression hardened, “My spell should reinforce the original one permanently. You won’t have to deal with this bullcrap again.”

“Great,” Red Robin nodded, “Break into the Watchtower?”

“Break into the Watchtower,” Nightwing agreed, turning to Oracle, who was already typing away on her keyboard, “Already on it. We’ll be in and out in no time.”

~

“Everyone can hear me?”

“Nightwing here. Loud and clear, O.”

“Red Robin here. I’m with Constantine.”

“Red Hood here, with Robin.”

“Alright. Initiate the distraction.”

Nightwing grinned, strolling out of his hiding place just in time to bump into Superman. “Supes! Hey, it’s been a while!” Nightwing greeted cheerily. He only ever interacted with Superman whenever the Titans had coordinated meetings with the League, but Superman did know of him, at the least. 

Superman blinked in confusion for a moment, adding up to what Red Robin had described. The sorceress was not able to dig for information through their memories, and solely relied on outsider knowledge. Nightwing pouted. 

“Aw, c’mon, Superman! Don’t you remember me? I’m Nightwing, you’re number one fan!” he splayed his hands as he grinned, “My name is literally paying homage to the Kryptonian legend of the same name, so you really can’t deny that I have to be one of your biggest fans.”

Superman blinked again, then nodded with a fake smile, “Yes! Of course, Nightwing, I just… it’s been a long day, for me.”

Nightwing nodded sagely, “Yeah, I can imagine. Hey, where’s the rest of the Trinity at?”

Superman blinked again. “You know, Batman? Wonder Woman? Where is Wonder Woman? I haven’t seen her in a while,” Nightwing tilted his head expectantly, playing up innocently confused and seeing if he took the bait.

“Oh, she’s been busy,” Superman shrugged, “Ah, both of them. Have been busy. Yeah,” Superman nodded to himself, “What are you up here for?”

“Oh, just retrieving something I left behind,” he held up the spare escrima sticks he had in his hands, his normal ones still strapped to his back, “But, well, I’ll be off, now. I don’t know about you, but humans like me get way busier than should be legal,” Nightwing shook his head and grinned, clapping Superman on the back as he bounced away with a goodbye called behind him.

He waited until he reached the observation deck before hopping up into the shadowy beams of the high ceiling with quick and controlled movements. “Superman’s been Kryptonite patched,” Nightwing reported, “Wonder Woman?”

“She’s in the meeting room. The one for main members of the League,” Oracle reported, “Red Hood and Robin have located and freed Batman. He was being held prisoner in a containment cell.”

“They didn’t even have guards,” Red Hood snorted, “They really underestimate us, huh, Bats?”

“Hnn.” Nightwing smiled at the familiar grunt, allowing some of the tension to bleed away, but not all of it. “What’s the plan?” Batman’s growl spurred them on.

“Red Robin is sneaking Constantine towards the meeting room. We should be able to get there first. Robin and I will have your back, but I think you should be the main distraction. After all, the sorceress would expect you, not one of us,” Red Hood reported. 

“Robin is a myth,” Robin chimed in, “I will have to remain in the shadows for the most part, so as to not reveal my existence.”

“Constantine already knows the cover story. He owed Red Robin a favour,” Nightwing added, “I’ll head towards the zetas and prep it for all of us. Meet me there as soon as you can. None of us are supposed to be in the Watchtower.”

There was a period of silence, before scuffling erupted in the comms. The supers who had been lingering around the zetas started running off down the corridor, and Nightwing allowed himself to drop down and take them out while their backs were turned. The less people ganging up on them, the better. He turned to quickly type in the coordinates to the Batcave.

“We’ll leave Constantine with you, Batman,” Red Robin stated through the comms. Batman grunted, and soon he was talking to a disoriented Wonder Woman as she regained consciousness. The bats continued to monitor the conversation from the safety of the Batcave. 

“I wiped all of you from the system. You guys should be fine,” Oracle chimed in through the comms. Red Robin nodded, turning on his heels, “I need to go check up on my team. I slapped the Kryptonite patch on Kon, and he’s probably really confused right now.”

Red Hood nodded, “I need to check up on the Outlaws, too.”

“Dinner on Friday at my place?” Nightwing called after his retreating brothers. The two paused, looked at each other, and shrugged. “Sure. Just make sure the brat doesn’t stab anyone,” Red Hood commented, Robin scowling from his place next to Nightwing. Nightwing just laughed.

**Author's Note:**

> “What if all the bat-kids just pretend they don’t know each other or batman?”
> 
> I’m going off on knowledge gained from excessive fanfic reading, so I‘m not aiming for accuracy, just a general vibe. I am totally planning on doing more oneshots on this concept, though.


End file.
